Electric cord and plug



9 L. M. BACH 2,999,754

ELECTRIC CORD AND PLUG Filed April 16, 1957 INVENTOR. LoYAL M. BACH BY 2%29226 Pm Arraelviys United States Patent F 2,909,754 ELECTRIC corn) AND PLUG Loyal M. Bach, Santa Monica, Calif. Application April 16, 1957, Serial No. 653,094 2 Claims. 01. 339-101 This invention relates broadly to electrical connectors and more particularly to an improved electrical cord and plug adapted for conventional household use.

There are many instances in which the electrical cords provided with household electrical equipment are longer than necessary. In order to avoid tangling of such cords, many systems have been proposed for automatically retracting the cords into the electrical'appliance by suitable drum means or the like so only the amount of electrical cord necessary to effect a connection is used. Retracting mechanisms of this type are not only relatively complicated and expensive but in addition, the biasing means employed to normally retract the cord may accidentally pull the plug from the wall socket. As a consequence, very few such recoiling devices are presently used and the annoyance and inconvenience of excess cord length is either tolerated or the slack taken up by simply manually holding the cord with one hand while operating the electrical appliance with the other.

Excess length in electrical cords is particularly irritating in the case of electrical razors. In modern pres- 'ent day bathrooms, an electrical outlet is usuallyprovided immediately adjacent a shaving mirror. In such cases, the conventional electric razor cords tend to-become entangled with other objects in the bathroom such as tumblers and toothbrushes and the like when the user of an electric razor is moving the razor from one side of his face to the other. Further, it is common practice to leave a razor cord plugged in the wall and simply disconnect the razor from the other end when not in use. As a consequence, the free end of the cord drags on the floor, and in some circumstances may even cause a short circuit if it falls in the sink water or bath tub. On the other hand, it is still desirable that a relatively long electrical cord be provided with electric razors for use in those environments in which convenient electrical outlets are not provided adjacent shaving facilities.

Bearing the above in mind, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved electrical cord and plug, particularly well adapted for electric razors, in which a desired length of cord is effectively provided for convenient use, and which length may be adjusted, whereby the annoyance of excess cord length swinging between the electrical outlet and the electrical appliance is avoided.

More particularly, it is-an object to provide an effec tively adjustable length electrical cord which is extremely economical to manufacture, which employs no complicated mechanisms to get out of order, in which no bias is placed on the plug itself, and which may be readily and easily manually adjusted to any desired effective length.

Still another object is to provide a cord of the above type which may be left in a socket Without danger of the free end dragging on the floor or causing short circuits.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention are attained by providing a conventional electrical cord having a plug connected to one end. In

I Patented Oct. 20, 1959 2 accordance with the invention, the plug is designed with a transverse passage adapted to receive a portion of the cord intermediate its ends. This passage passes in a direction preferably at right angles to the normal direction in which the plug is moved for insertion into a wall'socket whereby entrance and exit of the cord from the passage is not blocked by the presence of the wall socket itself. The arangement is such that a lopped portion of the cord extends between the conventional connection of the cord to the plug and that intermediate portion of the cord passing through the transverse passage. The size of this loop may be easily adjusted by sliding the intermediate portion of the cord back and forth through the transverse passage and thus remaining length of cord from theplug may be effectively adjusted in length. Since the plug itself is relatively rigid when inserted in a wall socket, it provides a convenient mounting for the intermediate portion .of the cord passing through the transverse passage whereby the usable length of the cord is determined by that portion passing from the passage in the plug to the electrical appliance. I

In one embodiment, -a frictional fit between the intermediate portion of the cord and the transverse passage is provided so that any desired effective cord length provided will remain the same until further intentional manual adjustment of the intermediate portion of the cord in the passage is effected. In another embodiment, a sleeve may be provided in the passage to minimize friction so that the effective length of the cord will automatically adjust itself as a result of gravity acting on the looped portion.

While numerous applications for the present invention will occur to those skilled in the art, a preferred embodiment thereof will be described in connection with an electric razor cord.

Referring to the accompanying drawings:

7 Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of an electric razor cord and plug designed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the cord and plug arrangement of the invention illustrated in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a cross section of the cord and plug taken in the direction of the arrows 3-3 of Figure 2 illustrating a modified embodiment; and,

Figure 4 illustrates another modification of the plug designed in accordance with the present invention.

Referring to Figure I, there is illustrated a conventional Wall socket 10 such as found in modern bathrooms adjacent the shaving mirror, in one receptacle portion of which there is shown a plug 11 for an electrical cord 12-, designed in accordance with the present invention. As shown, the cord 12 includes a looped portion designated generally by the numeral 13, an intermediate portion of the cord itseLf passing through a transverse passage 14 in the plug 11 and thence extending beyond the passage 14 to terminate in a connector 15 for a conventional electric razor 16. In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, the cord 12 is dimensioned to frictionally fit within the passage 14 in the plug 11 such that the effective length of the cord between the plug '11 and the razor 16 may be increased by simply pulling the cord through the passage in the direction indicated by the arrows to decrease the size of the loop 13 and increase the remaining length of the cord. Alternatively, the effective length of the cord between the razor 16 and plug 11 may be decreased by pulling the cord downwardly through the passage 14 to increase the size of the loop 13 and thus effectively decrease the remaining length of the cord.

Figure 2 illustrates the invention in greater detail wherein it will be noted that the passage 14 is in the form of a bore passing transversely through the plug. The axis of this bore is at right angles to the direction of the plug prongs 17 and 18; that is, to the direction in which the plug 11 is moved for insertion into a conventional socket. By this arrangement, there is no interference with the entrance and exit of the cord through the bore 14 with the surrounding wall areas.

As best shown in Figure 3, the plug 11 is normally comprised of insulating material while the cord 12 includes an outer sheath of insulation 19 for carrying the conductive wires 20 and 21 therewithin. The insulation 19 not only insulates the conducting wires 20 and 21 from each other but also insulates them from contact with exterior objects. Usually, the insulation material is in the form of a resilient rubber substance. Therefore, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention as shown in Figure 2, the bore 1'4 may be dimensioned so that the cord 12 passing through there may be made to frictionally fit the opening. This frictional fit is such that while the cord 12 may be manually pulled through the opening, it tends to remain in any one set position. This frictional gripping is inherent as a result of the conventional type rubber insulation employed in the plug and cords in present day use.

In a second embodiment, there may be provided a smooth surfaced sleeve 22 shown in Figure 3 in the bore 14, for minimizing friction. This embodiment is useful where the plug receptacles are horizontally aligned such as in Figure 1 so that the weight of the looped portion 13 will tend to keep the remaining cord length taut.

Figure 4 illustrates another modified type of plug constructed in accordance with the present invention, comprising a head from which conventional prongs extend and which includes a transverse bore 23. The plug includes an extending body portion 24 terminating in a yoke structure comprising yoke arms 25 and 26 spaced a given distance by the body portion 24 from the oppositely extending prongs of the plug. The cord 27 preferably passes from between the arms 25 and 26. By the arrangement of Figure 4, the arms 25 and 26 serve to co-operate with the opposite prongs to provide essentially a frame for convenient wrapping of the cord 27 when the electrical cord and plug are not in use. As in the case of the plug of Figures 1, 2, and 3, the modified plug of Figure 4 may have an intermediate portion of its cord 27 passing through the bore 23, whereby when in use, the effective length of the cord may be adjusted.

While the invention has been described with respect to an electric razor cord for conveniently varying the length thereof, many other applications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. The invention is, therefore, not to be thought of as limited to the particular electrical cord and plug described for illustrative purposes.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a plug halving prongs projecting from one end portion thereof, the axes of said prongs being parallel to each other and lying in a given plane, said plug having a transverse hole passing therethrough in a direction normal to said given plane and in a position to pass between said parallel axes of said prongs; and an electrical cord passing from the opposite end of said plug in a loop and including a portion passing through said bore whereby said portion is completely surrounded over 360 degrees by said hole, the remaining length of said cord beyond said hole being adjustable by adjusting the size of said loop.

2. A plug having promgs projecting from one end portion, and a body portion extending from said prongs a given distance and terminating in a yoke structure, said yoke structure comprising two arms extending in the same plane as, and in an opposite direction to, said prongs, said plug having a transverse bore passing therethrough adjacent to said prongs and in a direction at right angles to said plane; and a cord connected to said plug and extending from between said arms, a portion of said cord intermediate its ends passing through said bore.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,528,274 Simons Mar. 3, 1925 1,714,763 Boyson May 28, 1929 2,024,734 Hoskins Dec. 17, 1935 2,182,446 Nelson Dec. 5, 1939 2,561,740 Kennedy July 24, 1951 

